Goodell Issues Memo Telling Players They Should Stand For National Anthem

5 months ago

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a memo to all 32 teams onTuesday in a bid to end the controversy surrounding player protestsduring the national anthem.

Goodell is looking to squash the controversy by agreeing on auniform approach for all teams.

"Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand forthe national anthem. It is an important moment in our game,"Goodell wrote in the memo. "We want to honor our flag and ourcountry, and our fans expect that of us.

"We also care deeply about our players and respect their opinionsand concerns about critical social issues. The controversy over theanthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making realprogress on the underlying issues. We need to move past thiscontroversy, and we want to do that together with our players."

The NFL's current anthem policy states that players "should" standfor the anthem, but does not require it.

Goodell also wrote that the NFL has developed a plan to reviewduring next week's fall league meeting in New York based ondiscussions with teams and players. The plan "would include suchelements as an in-season platform to promote the work of ourplayers on these core issues, and that will help to promotepositive change in our country," per Goodell.